


Instinct

by imbeccacile



Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bromance, Canon Compliant, Gen, Mentor/Sidekick, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 04:11:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18218042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imbeccacile/pseuds/imbeccacile
Summary: Phil Coulson met Agent Fury and they instantly formed a bond of some kind. Why else would the rookie allow him to escape when his orders were to bring him in?





	Instinct

**Author's Note:**

> hi I love phil coulson a lot and I love the idea that fury liked him from the beginning.
> 
> also I have never watched agents of shield so I’m rly sorry if I got something wrong in the canon of that

When Phil started working at SHIELD, things got crazy right away.

 

His first day was a whirlwind of tours, questioning from other agents and his boss, and trying to get acclimated to the new environment. He was a government agent now, which meant he would be in trouble at any turn.

 

The second day, he was introduced to Fury, one of the top agents of SHIELD. He was kind in a sort of secret way, calling Phil “New Guy” or “Rookie”; but not teasingly like some of the other agents. There was something different about how Fury talked to him, and despite his sort of tough-guy attitude, Phil figured he’d taken a liking to him.

 

Which was good, because Phil liked Fury, too. He was collected and serious, but knew how to laugh when it was appropriate (of course, not many people got to see that side of him, but Phil had gotten to by the end of his first week).

 

After Phil’s second week, Director Keller seemed rather pleased with his work, especially how he worked with Fury. So he sent them both on call for a complaint, since apparently some woman trashed a Blockbuster.

 

When they arrived, the Blockbuster was in bad shape. “I’ll go take a look,” he said, and Fury nodded once, saying that he’d talk to security. Phil hopped through the broken doorway, careful to avoid any glass around. Luckily, it seemed nobody had been in the building when the woman fell through the ceiling.

 

He inspected the hole and the marks on the floor and noticed she had to have fallen from a pretty high height to get a dent this deep in the ground. Strange, how she was able to get up without needing medical attention.

 

Interesting. Who was this woman, anyway?

 

Phil brushed himself off and carefully stepped outside, ready to report to Fury; and found the car was gone. Frowning, he checked his phone. No message from him. Perhaps he hadn’t had time to let him know. Maybe the woman had run away and he had to get to her quickly.

 

Still, he should check to see if everything was okay. Dialing Fury’s number, he put it to his ear. Luckily enough, he picked up after a couple rings. “Hello?” Fury sounded confused.

 

Phil cleared his throat. “Uh, sir, I’m still at the Blockbuster. Where did you go?”

 

He got no response. Instead, on the other line, there was shuffling noises and then it went dead.

 

Worried, Phil began running, hoping to track Fury’s signal. As he did so, he called Director Keller for backup.

 

The next day, Phil sat in his office, flipping a pen between his fingers. Director Keller seemed to be having some kind of off day, and told Fury not to tell anyone about the woman or what she was doing. Earlier, Fury had come by to tell Phil that he was going after her, and if he needed backup, he’d call. He wanted him to come, if needed.

 

Fury trusted him. That much was obvious.

 

So he stayed put, distracting himself with paperwork.

 

Director Keller was at his door an hour later. “Agent! Nicholas Fury needs backup, let’s go!”

 

Phil got to his feet quickly, pulling his jacket back on, and was out the door immediately. While in the car, he wondered why the director had called him by his full name. Strange, because the Fury he knew was hellbent on being called Fury and only Fury.

 

When they reached the hangar, Director Keller told them all to stay where they were until further notice. Sure enough, a couple minutes later, Phil and the other agents received a message saying that Fury had gone rogue with that woman, and to arrest them both.

 

Phil felt sick to his stomach as they all stepped inside. Holding his gun out in front of him, he noticed his hand shaking a bit. Dammit. Why was this so hard? He was a great agent and he’d gone through so much training to be here. 

 

Because, in his gut, something was wrong. It may have been the way Director Keller had been speaking, or the fact that it was Fury of all people, but Phil didn’t truly think that everything being said was truthful.

 

But he continued on and followed orders, just as he was asked.

 

Phil found the top of a staircase, and heard a door nearby open. He clenched his jaw and held his gun out in front of him, and sure enough, Fury and that woman turned the corner. Her hand glowed upon seeing his gun, though he wasn’t focused on that.

 

Fury was staring at him and his eyes were pleading. Phil bit the inside of his cheek. Fury would never deliberately go against SHIELD. He knew that.

 

So he lowered his gun.

 

“Coulson, you have eyes on them?”

 

And he hesitated for a moment, but the relief in Fury’s eyes made him feel a bit better about his decision. “They’re not down here,” he said, grateful his voice stayed steady. “Let’s try up there.”

 

With that, he took a deep breath and headed up the stairs, adrenaline rushing. He couldn’t believe he went against orders. But one of the things he’d been told in training was to trust his gut, and he did. Fury was a great person. He knew if he was “going rogue” it was for good reason.

 

Phil hadn’t been completely sure if he’d made the right decision until a couple days later, when he was working late and Fury came back. 

 

He looked exhausted, one of his eyes was swollen shut, and he held a sleeping cat in his arms, but he stayed and told Phil everything, thanking and praising him for trusting his instinct and letting him and Carol go.

 

It had been an alien impersonating Director Keller, and although it turned out they were the good guys, Phil had known he was a bit strange. “He called you Nicholas,” he said with a laugh, and Fury cracked a smile, nodding.

 

A couple days later, Phil adjusted his tie and knocked on Fury’s door. When he entered, he smiled. “Package came for you,” he said lightly, placing the case of glass eyes on the desk. 

 

Fury seemed to hate the idea. It was kind of funny.

 

Glancing down, he noticed Goose was rubbing against his ankle. He smiled and scratched the cat’s head. “I can’t believe you lost your eye fighting off a bunch of aliens.”

 

Fury grinned slightly and nodded.

 

“And the tesseract hasn’t turned up yet?”

 

“Not yet. I’ll let you know,” Fury replied, clearing his throat and glancing at the computer. He seemed rather distracted; not that Phil could really blame him.

 

“Alright. Well I’ll let you be. Seems you’ve got an important decision,” he said, nodding towards the case, and stepped out of the office. 

 

Two days later, Fury called him back into the office. 

 

“Coulson, I want to show you something I’ve been working on.”

 

On the screen, Phil could see it read “The Avengers Initiative.” He smiled a little when he finished reading it.

 

“It’s brilliant, sir. How can I help?”


End file.
